The Runaways
by Alexianelle L'ilore
Summary: Roxas left home to escape, and after a chance meeting of a certain red-head on the train, Roxas's life is thrown into chaos. He must either accept his new life, or try his chances back home. Parings: Akuroku, zemyx, more. Rated M for later.


**Chapter One: The Meeting**

Roxas sat slouched down in one of the train station's ugly orange chairs. He had been saving for years little bits and pieces of whatever he could, but the munny had been meant for college, not a one way ticket to no where. Roxas had drained all of his savings, grabbed a single backpack and his skateboard, and bought a ticket for the first train out of town. No one was going to miss him. Sure there could be legal actions against him if they ever found him, but he was willing to take the chance.

The small station was crowded with people pushing and shoving, deepening Roxas's already bad mood. Bullet for My Valentine was pounding through his headphones, thankfully blocking out the noise. Just because he was running away and going to start a new life didn't mean he had to become a people person. His only prayer was that no one would recognize him, or at least not say anything to him. It seemed like no one would leave him alone anymore.

Checking his watch to find another half hour before the train arrived he pulled one of his ear buds out to listen for announcements about his train. The damn things were either freakishly late or unnaturally early it seemed like. The woman in the chair next to him was holding a screaming baby in her arms while the man on his other side was trying to talk on his cell phone over the baby's cries. Roxas just scowled and dropped his throbbing head into his hands.

_I'll be out of here soon, _he repeated to himself only to find that that was even more stressing.

"I reserved two train tickets for the six o'clock train, I need two not just one," a man was arguing at the ticket window.

Roxas didn't even bother paying attention to the argument, but it sounded like it was getting heated. He just stared at the fraying bottom of his jeans.

"I have to be on that fucking train. So you will call up your damn supervisor and tell them to get off their lazy ass and give me a ticket. I don't give a shit what you have to do, but I am getting on that train."

This time Roxas looked up at the ticket window across the train station. People were blocking his view of the man, but he could see the flustered old ticket lady. Roxas sighed as he recognized the lady from around town and knew she didn't deserve that jerk talking to her like that.

"Bitch, you don't know who you're talking too. I demand to speak to your supervisor right now," the man paused for a minute as if listening to the ticket lady, "I don't give a fuck if she's on break or not, I want to talk to her now. Just point the way and I'll go find her."

The man turned away from the window to give Roxas his first glance of him. Roxas's breath caught in his throat as he saw a tall man with fiery red, spiked hair that in no way could be natural. He couldn't look away as the man disappeared and reappeared behind people walking in front of him. For some reason Roxas felt an indescribable urge to go after him. It was like he recognized the man, but he knew never in his life had he met anyone with that hair. He felt as if he went over there he would be greeted as an old friend.

Roxas shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. When he looked back up the man was gone. _That was so weird,_ Roxas thought to himself as he leaned back into his chair, pushing the last few minutes out of his mind.

xXx

Hitching his backpack higher on his shoulder, Roxas boarded his train. He glanced down at his ticket and almost winced at the bold words **one way** printed on it. Never had he done anything like this in his life, but he could still hear the harsh voice in his head telling him to get gone.

Running his fingers through his disheveled blond hair he looked around for an empty seat. When he found one that wasn't backward he dropped down into it and shut his eyes. Exhaustion swept over him from the last week, and he was more than ready to catch up on the sleep he had been missing. He didn't even realize that there was someone sitting in the seat next to him until he felt someone watching him.

When he opened his eyes they met an emerald green pair that was glaring at him. Roxas couldn't help but stare at the fieriest green eyes he had ever seen, but then he noticed the hair. It was the man from the ticket window with his crazily spiked, fiery red hair. Roxas briefly wondered how much gel it would take to get your hair to stay that way. Underneath his eyes the man had two upside down, black triangles tattooed on his face.

The redhead's glare quickly turned into a look of confusion.

Roxas scowled, "What?"

"Have we met before?" the redhead asked.

"No," Roxas replied shortly even though he could remember having the same feeling back in the station when he had first seen him too.

"Name's Axel, A-X-E-L, got it memorized?" he said putting a finger up to his temple. "What's yours kid?"

Roxas's scowled deepened, "I'm not a kid." Technically he was still 17, but since he had lied to the train company to get the ticket why should he stop now? He'd be 18 in a month anyway.

Axel hummed in the back of his throat in disbelief, "Right, so I told you my name, what's yours?"

"Roxas," he answered shortly, starting to wish he had picked the backward window seat and just put up with the nausea.

"Where you headed Roxas?"

"That doesn't concern you."

Axel rolled his eyes, "I'm on my way to Hollow Bastion."

Before he could stop himself Roxas asked, "Going on vacation?"

"Naw, I live there. I'm a student at Radiant Garden University. I was just in Twilight Town visiting someone."

Roxas returned back to slouching in his chair. He still had his backpack with his skateboard strapped on the back clasped in his hands, not willing to let go of his one bag.

"Come on, I've told you where I'm going, now how about you?" Axel prodded.

"What's the last stop on this train route?" Roxas asked.

"Hollow Bastion, arriving at midnight."

"Then that's where I'm headed."

Axel raised his eyebrows, "Alright since you don't seem to want to talk I'll make a guess. Let's see, you live in Twilight Town, a senior at their local high school." At Roxas's look he added, "You've got a TTHS pin for this coming year on your backpack. I'd say you're 17 then, but getting a train ticket at 17 has become pretty tricky. So either you're really clever or know someone who bought you one, but I think you bought it yourself. Since you didn't know where you are going and you only got that one bag, I'd say that you're running away for some reason or another. Whether you've got plans when you get to Hollow Bastion, I know not. So how'd I do?" Axel was looking at Roxas grinning, he was pretty sure he had pegged the kid perfectly.

Roxas glared at him, "Like I said, it's none of your damn business. Just leave me the hell alone." He pulled his iPod out of his bag and shoved in his ear buds. With one last glare at Axel, Roxas shut his eyes. Axel just smirked and shut his too.

The train's whistle drew him out of the light sleep he had drifted into. Axel wiped the sleep out of his eyes before looking back over at the kid. Roxas was sitting in his seat hunched over a sketchbook drawing vigorously.

"That's pretty good kid," Axel said examining the rough drawing of three young friends.

Roxas looked up, shocked to find him awake. The guy had been sleeping like the dead for the last hour. "Thanks, I guess," he muttered. "I'm not that good; it's my girlfriend, Naminé, who's the real artist. She's amazing." Roxas flinched inwardly as soon as he said it. She was his ex-girlfriend now because as far as he was concerned you were either over or not. The whole we should take a "break" is shit.

"Ahh," Axel said nodding, wondering why a kid like Roxas would have run away when he had a girlfriend who he called amazing. "So why'd you run away?"

"I just did, okay," Roxas said defensively.

"Tisk, tisk, Roxas, you never actually told me you had run away until now," Axel said smirking.

"You know what, shut the fuck up. I'm leaving because I'm tired of jerks like you," Roxas spat.

"Aw, I'm really hurt now by the comment from the guy who doesn't even know me," Axel said sarcastically.

"I know that you didn't need to treat Mrs. Higgins like you did. She is an extremely nice old woman who doesn't deserve being called a bitch."

Axel's smirk turned into a scowl, "You mean the woman at the ticket booth? That bitch lost my reservations."

Roxas shook his head in disgust, "Just forget it."

They rode the rest of the way in silence, Axel staring out the darkening window and Roxas scratching away at his drawing.

xXx

Axel hopped off the station platform quickly falling in step with Roxas, who was clearly trying to get away from the redhead as quickly as possible.

Roxas stopped, clutching his backpack strap in his hand, "What is it now?"

"I was just thinking I could help you with directions or give you a lift to where ever you're staying," Axel replied, smirking slightly.

Roxas only scowled and looked at the ground.

Axel raised his eyebrows, "Ahh, I see. You haven't got a place to stay do you? Any there's not any hotels open at this hour." With that he started to walk away, leaving Roxas staring after him perplexed. After a few seconds he looked back over his shoulder at Roxas expectantly, "Well? Aren't you coming?"

"Where?" Roxas asked confused.

"My apartment of course. You're lucky you met such a great guy on the train. Otherwise, you'd be on the street for tonight, and let me tell you that is not a place you want to be," Axel teased.

"Just like that? You don't even know me. I could be some kind of axe murderer and you just invited me in," Roxas questioned.

Axel stared at him, eyes flashing, daring Roxas to do it. Clearly he was insane or thought he could handle an axe murderer, but Roxas didn't have a choice. Part of running away was that he was going to have to take risks. If Axel was willing to let him crash for the night he'd just have to deal.

"If you're sure, cause I'd rather have a place to sleep over not having one," Roxas said following Axel toward the parking lot.

xXx

Axel lived in a small apartment near downtown Hollow Bastion. As they drove through the city Roxas looked out the window up at the tall buildings that came off as ominous in the dark. Hollow Bastion was a rather large city, but from rules set down by early lawmakers there were no skyscrapers. In the middle of the night like this no one was out and most lights were off. It actually reminded Roxas a little bit of home. He never pictured a big city being so dark.

"Hollow Bastion has recently started to enforce new city ordinances, no electricity after midnight. They're trying to conserve energy or some shit like that. You gotta have a permit now to run anything electric after dark," Axel said as if reading his mind. "I'm still not used to seeing the city this dark. Twilight Town was this dark, but that place is so tiny."

"People start closing down around six in Twilight Town. Once the sun starts setting everyone goes home," Roxas added.

"This is it," Axel said as they pulled up to of an average apartment building. He parked the car in front of the building and got out.

"You can just park it here?" Roxas asked, noticing the no parking signs.

"Not really, but no one will take it."

"What makes you say that?"

Axel shrugged his shoulders, "It's not my car, it belongs to my boss. By morning someone will have already come by and pick it up. Plus, no one would dare tow Xemnas's car."

Roxas raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything else.

The inside of the building wasn't that nice, but it wasn't that bad either. Axel lived on the fourth floor at the end of the hall. He withdrew a single key from his long leather jacket and opened the door.

"Home sweet home," he whispered. "Oh, try to be quiet. My roommate is probably asleep by now, and he is not fun to deal with if he gets woken up," Axel said before going in.

"He won't mind me staying the night?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know, but he owes me like a bazillion times over," Axel said tossing down his suitcase inside the door.

Roxas stepped into the apartment living room. It was a pretty decent size with a couple of couches, a TV and a stereo system.

"The kitchen is over there and the bathroom is through that door," Axel said motioning. "You need anything tonight?"

Roxas shook his head, "Just a blanket."

"Over there, night," Axel said as he headed toward what Roxas presumed was his bedroom.

"Axel?"

Axel stopped and looked back, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"It's whatever," he said with a final shrug leaving Roxas for the night.


End file.
